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Which Players Are You Most Excited To See for 2013?

Who do you see making a big impact? Which up and comers do you want to see more of? Who do you have big hopes for in 2013 and beyond.

1. Fangupo - I think if we gave him #98 and sent him out there, no one would realize it's not Hampton. I really have no idea what to expect from him, but to hear he's the strongest DLineman to ever come through BYU sounds pretty good to me. If Hokie could hold the point of the attack in the middle, it should be a piece of cake for the kid who has the same build as Hamp. He might not even be good, but he's the only guy on the roster right now that looks built to play the 3-4 NT position.

2. Robinson - The first time I saw him in preseason, I thought this kid has it. He just needs time to learn the position. Now he's practically fallen off the depth chart since we've drafted Jarvy. Based purely on the way this kid plays, I expect him to try even harder to prove he might be the most relentless pass rusher of anyone on the roster now that James is gone.

3. Worilds - It's his time. Can he stay healthy? If so, he's got all the potential in the Worild. No guy that big should have that athleticism. I have to admit, there were a handful of plays last year where I confused him with a DLIneman at times and Timmy other times. He's huge with a lightning burst. Just because we drafted Jarvy, I expect Worilds to have 15+ sacks.

4. Cortez - As good as our DBs looked last year, I think this year the take a huge step forward with Allen. He's better than both Keenan and Ike and I think he's gonna help us win the turnover battle. Plus you put the headsy Gay in the slot and you just get more guys that can force mistakes and create turnovers.

5. McClendon - He reminds me of when we anointed Keisel to play DE. Keisel was a hustler and was a high effort guy. But he just wasn't ready to take over the position. But he grew into it. I wonder if McClendon is on a similar path? I'm still not convinced he's a NT in our system. But can he grow into it with reps and more experience? Can he get stronger?

6. Heyward and Hood - It's time for these 2 to step up. They've been here long enough that it's time they start making their mark and some kind of impact on the team.

7. The Rookies in general because they are the rookies.

8. The down and out from Woodley to Dwyer to Troy. I want to see guys come into to camp healthy. I put Troy in this category because his calf issue seems to linger like the other two's fat cells. These can be 3 of our most prominent players or they can be useless. I hope they can somehow come in and remain healthy.

9. Adams and Gilby. Is one of them ready to take the next step and play LT? All this positional flexibility has gotten us is 3 guys that should be starters who's best position is probably RT - Adams, Gilby, and Foster.

10. The injured - Heath, Ike, DD, Spence, Ben - Can they all be 100% and stay 100% for a playoff run?

In addition to all of the above, Im anxious to see which Undrafted Rookie Free Agents make the team. Hoping like heck there is a Burfect from Cincy or a Foster from the Texans hidden somewhere in the pile. Heck, even another McClendon or two would be fine with me..lol.

I'm excited to several players and match ups once we get to July and training camp gets started.

1) David DeCastro: I was anxious to see how this guy would effect our running game last season and then he was injured and never really got the chance to get his feet under him. Although, it was nice to see him get a little on field experience at the end of last season. With a full offseason and preseason of work I expect big things out of our 2012 1st Round draft pick.

2) Cortez Allen: I'm real excited to see what kind of big play element this kid can bring to our defense when given the opportunity to be on the field full time. For some reason the kid has a nose for the ball and I fully expect him to give the Steeler offense several short field opportunities this season, which is something that was sorely missing in 2012.

3) Jason Worilds / Jarvis Jones: This will be a nice competition to watch in August. I think JW is motivated to show what he can do and obviously there is going to be a lot expected of the first round draft pick. I expect JJ to also add a big play element to the defense by adding consistent pressure. I expect JW will break camp as the starter but Jones will see the field in plenty of sub-packages and I wouldn't be surprised to see Lebeau come up with a formation to keep Woodley, Worilds, and Jones on the field all at the same time.

4) Mike Adams / Marcus Gilbert: This is going to be an interesting battle to see who wins the LT job and how the loser will except moving to RT. Both these young men have talent and with them both having their first true offseason training regimen under their belt, I expect to see better performances out of both. I would still like to see Max Starks brought back as insurance and to be our swing tackle. That would supply the team with better depth at the position than they've had in quite a while. Plus Max could push the kids as opposed to them just being handed the jobs.

5) Steve McClendon: For the first time in over a decade the Steelers will be rolling into September with someone other than "Big Snack" manning the most important position in Lebeau's 3-4 scheme. Steve will not offer the same skill set as Casey did but he will add a little more disruption in the backfield and Hood, Keisel, and Heyward are going to have to step up against the run. I do expect more sacks out of the NT position then we've seen in a long time. It would be nice to see Ta'amu step up a little in year two as well.

6) Markus Wheaton: This is the rookie I'm most excited to see. I think he is going to add another weapon to #7's arsenal and one that could be a true difference maker. Wheaton will substitute for some of the speed we lost when Wallace left for Miami and he is a much better route runner. Having him and Manny out there running crisp routes, Ben should be able to hold on to the ball less and still have explosive weapons on the outside.

7) Running Back Rotation: I'm interested to see how the Steelers go about distributing carries fairly to give a fair competition in camp. It's obvious they drafted Bell to be their back of the future but I also expect Dwyer and Redman to be given the opportunity to compete for the starting role and how will they split carries once the regular season begins. Stephens-Howling was obviously brought in to improve the Steelers third down back capabilities which probably spells the end of Baron Batch.

There are plenty more scenarios and issues I'm looking forward to but I really don't feel like writing a book but this is a good start for things that will determine the fate of the 2013 version of the PIttsburgh Steelers. I'm just looking forward to seeing it all play out.

Here's the embarrassing thing: If you asked me this question last year, I probably would have said Isaac Redman and Chris Carter.

I still kinda like both of those players. I think Redman's a guy that can come in for a couple series a game and give your #1 guy a breather and he's pretty determined and I like his effort to this day. Just not a 20-30 carry a game back.

Cartner looked overwhelmed, but he still could have potential over the long haul. I'd still give him some more time to develop.

1. Fangupo - I think if we gave him #98 and sent him out there, no one would realize it's not Hampton. I really have no idea what to expect from him, but to hear he's the strongest DLineman to ever come through BYU sounds pretty good to me. If Hokie could hold the point of the attack in the middle, it should be a piece of cake for the kid who has the same build as Hamp. He might not even be good, but he's the only guy on the roster right now that looks built to play the 3-4 NT position.

I would add TaŽamu here. HeŽs still on the roster after all he did, which means the coaches think heŽs a good player.

1) David DeCastro: I was anxious to see how this guy would effect our running game last season and then he was injured and never really got the chance to get his feet under him. Although, it was nice to see him get a little on field experience at the end of last season. With a full offseason and preseason of work I expect big things out of our 2012 1st Round draft pick.

I am very interested in this one as well. If he performs up to expectations the interior of the line should be very good. Very excited to see the contribution of the new coach and am optimistic about this o-line. If the running game picks up steam, this will bring some nice balance.